By Shelley Spacek Miller and Brandi Yee As Alexandrians, we are constantly writing the story of our community. While we continue to learn and bring awareness to its important and often untold past chapters, today we have an opportunity to write our story in a way that encompasses the richness, vibrancy and depth of beauty of our entire community. Alexandria enjoys higher levels of diversity than the national average and there are 121 languages spoken in the Alexandria City Public School system. More than 25% of the city of Alexandria’s population is foreign born, with families from Ethiopia ..read more

To the editor: I live in Old Town, but I don’t work here because there are not good union jobs here. Before the pandemic, I drove to Washington, D.C. for years to work as a server at a Marriott hotel. When that hotel closed, I found a union hotel job in National Harbor, because I could not find a good union job in Alexandria. I led a hard fight for a union contract at my hotel, and now I make a very good wage, have free healthcare and too many other rights to describe here. I believe everyone in Alexandria deserves a chance at that. That is why I found the article “Mysterious election placard ..read more

To the editor: As an Alexandria resident and Unite Here member, I was very confused by your article “Mysterious elections placards baffle residents” in the May 8 Alexandria Times. There is nothing mysterious about what our union does. I vote for union leaders, and they work with members to choose candidates who will stand with us, the workers. Alexandria is where we have made our home after immigrating here. We work in service jobs all over the area – like in the restaurants and coffee shops at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and at local parking lots in Alexandria. We deserve t ..read more

By Alyia Gaskins When my husband and I were deciding where to put down roots, we chose Alexandria because it exemplified our values of kindness and diversity. Together, we started serving – first with our church, then with ALIVE! and the Fund for Alexandria’s Child. Driven by my faith and love of our new home, I started talking to neighbors about our city. From Cameron Station to Arlandria to Lincolnia Hills and everywhere in between, I spoke with youth, seniors, teachers, business owners, environmentalists, those who need help and those who can help others. They told me our government needed ..read more

By Amy Jackson I’m running for mayor to work day and night for the people of our great city. If elected as our next mayor, I will improve public safety, fully fund our schools, address traffic and transportation needs and protect our quality of life. We have challenges that require bringing the city together in order to solve them, and we also have significant opportunities that we must take advantage of in order to remain a community where people want to live, work and raise their families. I got into this race because like many city residents, I know that Alexandria isn’t reaching its full ..read more

For an endorsement to have meaning there must be a process involved in which similar criteria are applied to all candidates. If the endorsement is coming from an organization, multiple people should be involved in that selection process. It’s also important for the process to be publicly stated. The Alexandria Times endorsements below were based on a number of factors, including: 1. Responses by the candidates to our voter guide questions; 2. Our candidate profile articles, which as of this week will have run about every candidate in the Democratic primary for both City Council and mayor; 3 ..read more

By Audrey Keefeakeefe@alextimes.com Hundreds of community members gathered at Southern Towers on May 21 for the City of Alexandria’s fifth community cookout of the season. “It’s important when you let someone know you care about them,” Michael Johnson, the founder of the Community Cookouts said. The cookouts began in 2006 with one table, one grill and only 20 people, and have blossomed over almost two decades into a resource-filled, free series open to residents, allowing them to connect over food throughout the spring and summer. Residents are invited to interact with more than 25 city agenc ..read more

Four male suspects were arrested Monday after an alleged robbery at a Virginia ABC store in the 3100 block of Duke Street. The suspects fled the scene in a stolen car and crashed into multiple cars before eventually being arrested on foot in Del Ray. The Alexandria Police Department notified dispatch of a stolen white Hyundai Elantra traveling northbound on Quaker Lane and Seminary Road. The vehicle was stolen out of Prince George’s County and crashed into a parked vehicle at Fontaine Street and W. Braddock Road and again less than a mile later near the intersection of W. Braddock Road and W ..read more

By Alexander Fernandez, Alexandria Journalism Project Unite Here, a union that mainly represents workers in the hospitality industry, may have violated Virginia state law by entering Alexandria condo and apartment buildings that do not allow soliciting to distribute placards endorsing current City Councilor Alyia Gaskins for mayor. Employees of two complexes, Meridian at Braddock Station and Carlyle Towers Condominiums, said in phone interviews that their buildings have clear “no soliciting” policies and that residents have complained about the Unite Here placards that appeared on doorknobs i ..read more

By James Mathesonjmatheson@alextimes.com Kevin Harris has lived in Alexandria his whole life. After running for Council in 2021 but falling 750 votes short in the Democratic primary, Harris believes if he wins this year it would be an extension of his current duties in the city as a housing liaison, coach and minister. “I want to do what I’m already doing, just on a larger scale,” Harris said. “That’s where my heart is, it’s with the people.” Harris’ background isn’t in politics, but community organizing. It’s this work that has prompted him to get acquainted with politics in order to accompl ..read more